German ‘Mono’ Burgos is leaving Atletico de Madrid this summer and is tipped to succeed Marcelo Gallardo as boss of Argentine giants River Plate.
The former goalkeeper had an incredibly successful playing stint at the Buenos Aires club, winning seven trophies in a five-year spell including the Copa Libertadores crown in 1996 before subsequent stints at Real Mallorca and Atletico Madrid.
Burgos and Simeone arrived at Atleti together in 2011 and they have worked closely together at the club in the timeframe since, but the former is now exiting at the end of his contract this summer to seek a managerial position of his own.
The pair have overseen success in the Spanish capital across almost a decade, winning the 2014 La Liga title, winning two Europa League trophies and reaching two Champions League finals – losing to Real Madrid in each.
However, La Razon now say that he ideally placed to replace Gallardo – tipped with a move to European football – in the hotseat in Buenos Aires.
“We have contact and we always message each other,” River Plate’s sporting director Enzo Francescoli is cited as saying. “But we never talk about River’s future. Germán also has conversations with Marcelo.
“Hopefully one day River and Germán will work together because I appreciate him as a guy, and if he wants to be a coach, being the River manager would be great. But I don’t know if that is going to happen. Or maybe it will happen when I am no longer here.”
Last month, Diario AS built on reports in Argentine outlet Ole that Burgos – who is out of contract in Madrid – is viewed as the long-term successor for the highly successful Gallardo.
Gallardo has been hugely successful with River – guiding them to the Copa Libertadores titles in both 2015 and 2018 (in which they memorable defeated Boca Juniors in the showpiece in Madrid) and also led them to the 2019 showpiece, which they lost against Flamengo due to two late goals.
Nelson Vivas is set to replace Burgos as Atleti’s number two with the club’s former captain Gabi Fernandez set to return to the coaching staff.
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